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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What might best describe the attitude of the author in "Such, Such Were the Joys..."?
(a) Joyous and spontaneous.
(b) Depressed and suicidal.
(c) Thoughtful and optimistic.
(d) Angry and pessimistic.

2. Who wrote "My Confession?"
(a) F. Scott Fitzgerald.
(b) Mary McCarthy.
(c) James Baldwin.
(d) Charles Lamb.

3. Who wrote "Once More to the Lake"?
(a) Maria Edgeworth.
(b) Sara Suleri.
(c) Charles Lamb.
(d) E. B. White.

4. Who wrote "Walking"?
(a) Kenko.
(b) Seymour Krim.
(c) Phillip Lopate.
(d) Henry David Thoreau.

5. What is the "failure" spoken about in "For My Brothers and Sisters in the Failure Business?"
(a) The failure to make a living financially.
(b) The failure of not appreciating nature.
(c) The failure involved in hurting the ones we love.
(d) The failure to write an important novel.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who wrote "Such, Such Were the Joys..."?

2. When was Jose Luis Borges born?

3. What did George Orwell renounce, along with his former life?

4. At which newspaper did H.L. Mencken work?

5. How does Lu Hsun's work create trouble for him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What tone does Mary McCarthy use in "My Confession?" How does she approach herself as well as the subjects of her essays?

2. What is Orwell's "Such, Such Were the Joys..." about? What complaints does Orwell have about the subject?

3. Under what circumstances are Lu Hsun's "This Tool is Life" and "Death" written? What are the subjects of these essays?

4. What subject dominated the writings of George Orwell? Name three specific things George Orwell wrote about.

5. M.F.K. Fisher is known for writing primarily about what subject? Beyond this subject, what biographical details has she confronted in her writing?

6. What is Junichiro Tanizaki's contribution to world literature? How has Tanizaki's writing style been characterized?

7. Describe Walter Benjamin's unfortunate end. How does his essay "Unpacking My Library" relate to this tragic end?

8. What two works of G. K. Chesterton are included in this volume? What are the subjects of these essays?

9. What views is Henry David Thoreau well known for? How did he believe one should live one's life?

10. What is the subject of E.B. White's "Once More to the Lake"? What is the message White relays about the state of the lake?

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